Local artist profile: Greg Penno

THIS week we chat with painter Greg Penno, who says after starting to paint in his late 60s, one of his first works was awarded Best Oil or Acrylic in Show at the Moonee Valley Art Show.

What motivated you to become a painter?

I’ve always been interested in the art world from an early age and as a child at primary and secondary school I was encouraged to draw and engage in art.

At Technical School I had an art teacher, Norman Penrose, who was a well-recognised local artist engaged mainly in watercolours.

Life, family, work and community service took up most of my life and I had not physically taken up painting until my wife produced a birthday present for my 50th birthday – a year-long, weekly session with Terry Jarvis, a local wonderful prolific and well-known watercolour artist.

I enjoyed those sessions with Terry but work and family life interfered with what I could produce.

It wasn’t until I was in my late 60s that I started to paint knowing that retirement wasn’t all that far away, and I would need to keep my mind active.

One of my first paintings was entered in the Moonee Valley Art Show in 2017 where it was awarded Best Oil or Acrylic in Show, with the judge David Chen.

This win propelled me to continue painting.

How would you describe your style?

My style is based on Impressionism and Contemporary Art.

I like the works of Claude Monet for its simplicity and use of colour and light, and I admire the tenacity of Jackson Pollock to stand up against traditional artists.

Pollock’s Blue Poles, purchased by the Victorian Government and owned by the National Gallery of Victoria, is now valued at $500 million.

I do a few landscapes, but I enjoy doing abstracts for the freedom that it gives you.

The only prizes I’ve won and artworks that I’ve sold have been abstract, so obviously I concentrate on that.

In doing abstracts and from a contemporary point of view, I paint with mainly acrylic paints and using acrylic pours, manipulating the paint with air pressure and using a variety of instruments from brushes, to bubble wrap, balloons filled with water, sponges and anything that can produce a different impression and style.

Which other artists inspire you?

I’m inspired by the words of Andy Warhol, “Don’t think about making art just get it done, let everyone else decide if it’s good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make more art”.

How can people check out your work online?

From time to time, I post works on Facebook and you can find my work on Instagram @gregoryjpenno

Do you have any exhibitions coming up?

I’m still painting off and on rather sporadically over time, but it can build up when there are specific art shows that I like to enter.

What would you say to young regional aspiring artists who are thinking of making a go of the creative life?

It’s very hard to make a living from what you do.

Start off with a job that provides a steady income and go part time in art and see where that takes you.

I look at a lot of artists and galleries online, looking to see what is relevant and what sells.

As for me, I’m just painting for fun and (it) gives me something to do in retirement and, in all honesty, I probably give away more than I sell.